The short answer
Port 8080 is registered with IANA as an alternative HTTP port ("http-alt"). Because port 80 needs admin rights on many systems and is often taken by a web server, proxies and test servers commonly use 8080 instead.
What it means for you
If a proxy is listed as host:8080, it almost always speaks HTTP proxy protocol, and it can still carry HTTPS sites through a CONNECT tunnel. The port number on its own does not guarantee anything, though: providers can run any protocol on any port, so check their docs.
Also known as
HTTP alternate port, http-alt, web proxy port.
Learn more
- Proxy ports explained
- What is port 1080?
- What is port 3128?
- HTTP vs HTTPS proxies
- IANA service name and port number registry
- RFC 9110, HTTP semantics
- MDN on the CONNECT method
- Nmap, for checking which ports are open
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Editorial note: Proxy providers change their pools, features and prices often, so treat any figures here as typical ranges at the time of writing and confirm current terms with the provider before you buy.
Editorial note: Proxy providers change their pools, features and prices often, so treat any figures here as typical ranges at the time of writing and confirm current terms with the provider before you buy.